The James Bond Bedside Companion is a non-fiction book written by the official James Bond author, Raymond Benson, first published in 1984. It was later updated in 1988. The book was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Biographical/Critical Work in 1984.
The book, split in five parts, includes information on "The James Bond Phenomenon", a biography on Ian Fleming the creator of James Bond, a biography on the fictional character James Bond, information on the novels, and finally information on the films.
Benson goes into considerable detail for each novel including continuation novels by authors Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham) and John Gardner. Likewise it details information on every film from the first official Bond film Dr. No, to the then-recent Bond film Octopussy. Additionally, it discusses the two unofficial adaptations of Casino Royale and the remake of Thunderball called Never Say Never Again. The 1988 publication included information on A View to a Kill (1985) and The Living Daylights (1987) as well as the books written by John Gardner since the 1984 edition.
Currently the book is officially out of print; however, in 2001 the now defunct PublishingOnline company created a print-on-demand "facsimile" edition from scans of the 1988 edition (the production plates were long lost). This edition is still available through Benson's official website.
Author Raymond Benson also wrote modules for the James Bond 007 role playing game and, from 1997 to 2002, was commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications to succeed John Gardner as the author of the James Bond novels series.